Project: Manhattan Remodel and Cape Cod Affordable, Episode 9, Part 1

Related

Bob joins Jason Hill of New England Classic as the paneling is installed in the kitchen and living area of the Manhattan Brownstone floor-through apartment. This ready-to-assemble Shaker-style flat panel is paint-ready, medium-density fiberboard faced with a wood veneer. The baseboard is applied first with panel adhesive, checked for level, and nailed in place. Each panel and vertical stile is then set and checked to be sure it?s level and plumb. Panels fit snugly into the rabbeted stiles and are tapped into place. Top rails and caps complete the profile. Bob then meets with Chris Vila, the project manager, and Robert Kirkpatrick of Rinnai to preview the tankless water-heating system. These compact units are wall-mounted and self-contained, have a copper heat exchanger inside, and flow valves with sensors to determine flow rate and temperature of the incoming water. These systems save 70 percent over traditional electric hot-water systems, provide significant space savings, and produce an endless supply of hot water. Bob wraps with the installation of Woodport historically accurate, five-panel doors. The Thorough Construction crew cuts mortises for the brass hinges, builds a jamb, installs it and sets it to level using shims, then trims the door before hanging it.

Part 1: Installing the Pre-Cut Paneling System

Bob meets Jason Hill from New England Classic as their ready-measured and pre-cut paneling system is installed in the Manhattan Brownstone. This flat-panel classic American design is modeled after the Arts and Craft style made popular in the late 1800s. This paneling is made of medium-density fiberboard (MDF) faced with a wood veneer. New England Classic offers Oak, Maple, Cherry, paint-grade wood, or a variety of standard finishes. The entire system is designed as a kit of parts that is custom fitted to the customer's space and style. Customers can go the the Web site and download design forms that gather the measurements and product specifics for the job. An in-house design team then creates a design, an installation plan, and a materials list. Once on-site the system is easy to assemble. First the center of the room is determined and marked, then the baseboard is set and leveled. The first panel is then centered on the line marking the center of the room. Panel adhesive is used on the back of each 3/8-inch panel to hold it in place and keep it off the wall enough to push it into the slot of the rabetted stile. The panel is then tapped into place and check for level. A top rail is slash cut along the edge before being installed with adhesive and nailed in place along the bead. A top cap completes the installation, and gives this panel a true 1890s feel.

This project deals with two very different notions of home. Bob begins on New York City's Upper West Side, where an 1890s Brownstone is revitalized through high-quality craftsmanship and sensitive design. New York's past meets its present, as the entire floor is recaptured and refurbished to create a spacious urban apartment on the doorstep of Central Park.

At the same time, Bob works with a Cape Cod developer to apply Massachusetts land use statute 40B to create affordable housing, and a neighborhood of homes in Mashpee, MA. These Energy Star certified homes show how quality building practices and reasonable asking prices can work together to provide livable, affordable homes and neighborhoods to those who work in our communities.